Julie Bishop meets new Afghan president

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to meet with Australian military personnel and new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.

In a statement, Ms Bishop said she visited Afghanistan on Australia Day to thank Australian Australian Defence Force personnel "for their outstanding service to our contribution to peace and security efforts".

"I also met with representatives of the newly formed Afghan government in Kabul to reiterate Australia's commitment to Afghanistan as the government enters a transition phase to take responsibility for security across the country," Ms Bishop said.

She said she also congratulated Mr Ghani, who was elected president in September 2014, on successfully forming a unified national government and reiterated Australia's support to the country.

Four hundred Australians are serving in Afghanistan as part of NATO's Resolute Support mission which started in January.

Ms Bishop said she would visit the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

"In Abu Dhabi, I will meet with the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and host a roundtable with Australian businesses," she added.